What Women Really Want

Three of my sisters and I singing my Mother into the grave

The greatest question...which I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is "What does a woman want?"

Sigmund Freud

Freud's problem was that he thought there would be one answer to the above question and failed to listen [or believe] to the women around him. Did he even ask them what they wanted? I guess not. For me, it's quiet simply to have all the world's children safe, loved and cared for, especially all of the children in my extended family. I bet if you asked a bunch of mothers around you  they would say something similar. Ask a woman who's never had or wanted children and she may take quite a different approach like wanting to have all the homeless animals of the world cared for. So, it is much more complex question than Dr. Freud imagined, as are women much more complex than Dr, Freud imagined. Philistine.

As I write this, so many of the world's children are not loved, safe and cared for and in fact they are starving. If you keep your mind on this horrendous fact it's hard to do anything but despair. That's precisely why I write a good sized check to CARE because rather than just feeling bad about the state of the world's children, I act. [see my post on guilt, "Letting Go of the Guilt Machine", 11/7/11] Perhaps not perfect, I could be donating more money and even volunteering to go to an out post in a third world country, helping to feed the hungry. Keep also in mind "the perfect is the enemy of the good." [Voltair] So, honestly doing something is far better than doing nothing. Think: if everyone in our affluent country contributed just a portion of their extra dough and the corporations that control the food surpluses distrubted that food around the world, I sincerely doubt there would be starving children anywhere on the globe. Interestingly, the movie that's in town right now addresses that very subject in a wildly futuristic way: "The Hunger Games" which is about a governmental power of the future that is controling the food supply in the most repulsive, repressive way. Grim thought, but on the other hand, isn't this the effect that 'reality TV's' is having on our viewing population? I think it's hardening people's hearts to other's misfortunes? Shades of the Roman Empire and their idea of entertainment...

If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance.                        Derek Bok

We don't need no education...All and all it's just another brick in the wall.       Pink Floyd

I have this naive hope that if people were only educated they would do the right thing by other nations and especially the ones with the starving children. The children of the world are our future. Why, in heavens name, wouldn't we make the best possible future for these children? Almost every study you read about oppressive regimes [the Taliban, Idi Amin, etc.] states that they purposefully foster illiteracy and also purposely improverish their people so they have more control over them. Women are especially targeted in oppressive regimes, actively discouraged from any form of education, not allowed to go to any school. Ironically, the greatest advances made in these third world countries comes from educating women and allowing them to make a living. Happily, there are many organizations who are combatting this ridiculous practice of oppressing people by controlling the food and withholding schools. So there is a battle to help educate these people and build the schools in the third world countries, this is one battle that I am all for. Get out your checkbook.

It perplexes me greatly that the bunk of our chartible dollars are going to countries to fund their war machines. Face it: there are more than enough weapons in this world, and enough is enough. I ask the same question of our country's military and Pentagon budget. Why are we over funding the already affluent big brass, and grossly expensive weaponry, and underfunding the men and women who are fighting our wars? Am I preaching to the choir? I hope so, then join me in opposing this stupidity.

I have this niggling suspicion that more charitable dollars are collected for an animal's welfare than for children's. This is a chronic concern and complaint of mine. Now, remember, I don't want to fall into black and white thinking so collecting dollars for animals is not "bad" it's a good thing, I just wish it was better for the kids.

Each year I help with a fund raiser for 'The Family Umbrella Group' an organization in our town which gives scholarships to the families of preschoolers. Stunningly, over 97% of the money raised goes directly to the families for the children's preschool education. Fabulous. Monies spent on children especially in their earliest years gives back to the communities and society, ten fold. Early childhood education is truly priceless and  yet there is always a shortage of funds for this very worthy cause. Also, every year I ardently hope that we'll surpass the amount of money that's collected by the annual Animal Shelter's fund raiser. So far we only do about half of what the animals rake in. Sad but true.

So, I humbly ask you, what do you want? Hopefully the answer has something to do with making the world a better place for both children and animals and at the risk of sounding like a beauty pagent contestant, WORLD PEACE. 

susansmagicfeather copyright 2012 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved